Endoscopic procedures to treat pathologies of the gastro-intestinal (“GI”) system, the biliary tree, the vascular system and other body lumens are becoming increasingly common. The endoscope, which is basically a hollow tube placed at a desired location within the body to facilitate access to body ducts and lumens, etc. is unable to carry out many procedures on its own. Additional devices are often inserted to the target site through lumens or working channels of the endoscope to perform the desired treatment via controls which remain outside the body.
A hemostatic clipping tool is one of the devices which may be inserted through an endoscope to deploy a clip to stop internal bleeding by clamping together the edges of a wound. A clipping tool complete with a clip attached to its distal end is inserted through the endoscope to the location of the wound and the clip is then remotely manipulated into position over the site of the bleeding, clamped over the wound and detached from the tool. After a number of clips sufficient to stop the bleeding has been deployed, the tool is withdrawn through the endoscope. The size and shape of the clips and clipping tool are limited by the inner diameter of the lumen(s) of the endoscope placing constraints on the design of clip positioning and release mechanisms which may be employed.
At times it may be difficult to properly position hemostatic clips over a wound. When clips are Improperly deployed, additional clips may be required to stop the bleeding, extending the time required for and the complexity of the procedure while leaving additional medical devices within the patient. It is also important that the device operator be certain of the status of the clip during the deployment operation. For example, before withdrawing the tool from the endoscope, the operator should have a positive indication that a clip has fully deployed and has been released from the tool. At the same time the design of the tool should ensure that clips are fully released after they have been closed over the tissue.